"The Rocky Mountain goat is a surefooted, North American climber - the largest mammal above the tree line - found in some of our most spectacular alpine landscapes. It's hard not to interpret his pose as that of "master of all he surveys."

Daniel Smith is a nature and wildlife painter born in Mankato, MN -now based on Bozeman, MO-, to a father who was an inveterate outdoorsman as well as an art hobbyist. «He used to wood-burn tabletops with wildlife scenes,» he remembers. As a child Dan was always drawing. «And I also spent a lot of time outdoors. I used to ride horses along the riverbanks.»

At the age of 16 he tried his hand at producing a duck stamp for the Montana Junior Duck Stamp competition. «I did it just to see if I could paint,» he remembers. Apparently he could: His painting won first place. Although he took art classes in high school, Adam believed his future lay elsewhere, specifically in auto design. To that end he obtained a bachelor of science degree in automotive technology at the Wyoming Technical Institute. Though several major car companies courted the talented youth, he decided to remain in Montana, where he took a job as a tech-line mechanic.

He defines himself as a realist painter, and he quickly adds that he is “an anomaly” among western artists, whose work he finds more impressionistic. He takes photographs of his subjects in the wild and also visits game farms for further inspiration and a chance to see animals up close. An alluring interplay occurs on his canvases between highly detailed, anatomically perfect wildlife and muted backgrounds that, while geographically accurate, often impart a somewhat dreamy quality. «I tend to minimize detail in the background, which I do with light, shadow, and contrast,» he notes. «Still, I want it to look real.»

Daniel has won numerous awards from the Society of Animal Artists and has been chosen Artist of the Year for several conservation organizations. He has used his art to aid and endorse many conservation efforts.

"I can only imagine that a cougar would experience a curious compulsion when confronting a rattlesnake. The tail rattle of this Western diamondback serves as fair warning in this potentially lethal encounter. It's up to the viewer's imagination to decide whether curiosity kills the cat."

"There are quite a few artists who do photorealistic work. To take the subject matter beyond the constraints of the photo is something few can do and Dan does it better than anyone else. His animals appear to be right there for the touching. His compositions are terrific and sense of design separate him from other artists working in the same genre."

You can enjoy Daniel's work in his website, his facebook, where he regullary post his artworks and info about many issues related with his creations and also in Art Gallery Canada. They represents the entire collection of Daniel.

This is an open art blog, so you could find images eventually offensive or umconfortable.

If you're an artist and find here images of your art you want to be removed, just tell me and I'll do it immediately. I try to ask for permission always if artist is alive and there's a way to contact, bot not always is possible and there are things I think worth to be known.

In any case, the copyrights of all the images contained in this blog, except where noted, belong to the artists or the legal owners of such rights, and have been published nonprofit and for the only purpose of make the works known to the general public.

Enjoy "El Hurgador", make any comment you like (respecting artists, other visitors and myself), make suggestions, critics, leave your opinions and make your contributions. Always welcome.